Sengul Cangur

Can BDNF and IL-2 be indicators for the diagnosis in schizophrenic patients with depressive symptoms?

Objective The aim of the current study is to determine whether serum levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and interleukin-2 (IL-2) can be biological indicators for the diagnosis of schizophrenia in patients with depressive symptoms. Method Forty-seven patients (11 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia, 16 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and comorbid depression and 20 patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder) and 20 healthy subjects were enrolled. The Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale, the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale were used for assessment. The serum BDNF and IL-2 levels of all the subjects were studied. Results Decreased levels of serum BDNF and increased levels of serum IL-2 were found in the patients diagnosed with either schizophrenia, schizophrenia with depression, or major depressive disorder (p = 0.049, p = 0.010; p = 0.001 and p = 0.044; p = 0.027, p = 0.003; respectively) compared with control group. There were no significant differences between the patient groups in their serum BDNF and IL-2 levels. Conclusions The present study suggests that neurotrophic factors and immune system changes are involved in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia with or without depressive symptomatology. However, the data do not clarify whether depressive symptoms in schizophrenia occur as a dimension of schizophrenia or as symptoms of major depression that is comorbid with schizophrenia.

Are there differences between serotonergic, noradrenergic and dual acting antidepressants in the treatment of depressed women?

Background. This study aims to investigate if there is a differential outcome of serotonergic and noradrenergic antidepressant treatment and if menopausal status has an impact on antidepressant response in depressed women. Methods. Data of the 111 depressed women who were included and completed the previous four open-label studies where patients were evaluated six times during a 10-week period, were pooled in the current study. Each of the reboxetine, sertraline and venlafaxine groups consisted of 37 depressed women. Patients were also divided into two subgroups of age, determining the 44 years as the cut-off point representing the menopausal status. Results. No significant difference was observed in the percent change of Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-17 (HDRS) and remission rates among treatment groups. Percent changes in Clinical Global Impression-Severity of Illness scale (CGI-S) and response rates were in favour of venlafaxine group at week 10. Individual HDRS items 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 demonstrated significant improvement in the sertraline group, whereas HDRS item 7 demonstrated significant improvement in the venlafaxine group. An early reduction in anxiety subscale was observed in the venlafaxine group. Menopausal status had no impact on the outcome measures. Conclusions. These results suggest that noradrenergic and serotonergic activity do not differ from each other in treating depressed women. However, serotonergic activity appears to be more prominent in some particular symptoms such as feelings of guilt, suicidal ideation and sleep. Also, menopause does not appear to affect antidepressants’ benefit in depressed women.

The relationship of anthropometric measurements with psychological criteria in female athletes

Abstract Sports and exercise settings as well as other socio-cultural environments emphasize a thin and physically fit female body. However, there is a clear need for a better understanding of the physical and psychological correlates of social physique anxiety and body image dissatisfaction in female athletes. This study aimed to examine the association of the social physique anxiety, body image satisfaction, and personality with the anthropometric measurements in female college athletes according to their sport type using the Co-Plot technique. The sample included 63 female athletes ranging in age from 18 to 26. Results of the Co-Plot analysis revealed a significant association among social physique anxiety, personality and anthropometric measurements. This means that certain physical measurements may lead to greater social physique anxiety and body image dissatisfaction in female athletes. It was found that females having higher levels of social physique anxiety and thus, lower levels of body image satisfaction may be less emotionally stable and more negatively perfectionist. In conclusion, the results of the present study provided evidence to the claim that both physical self-perception and anthropometric measurements may be closely associated with psychological criteria in female athletes.

Co-Plot Method: A Research on Tobacco Control in the European Region

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study is to introduce the uncommonly used Co-Plot method which is called the multivariate graphical analysis and to apply this method to a data set including tobacco control in European region. METHODS: This study uses the data from the World Health Organization database according to Human Development Index of European countries. It takes into account variables such as smoking prevalence in young people and adults, the proportion of smoking-related deaths and domestic legislations cases pertaining to tobacco products and analyses the data using the Co-Plot method. RESULTS: Results of the study demonstrated that smoking prevalence and restrictions on advertising of tobacco products were highly negatively correlated. The proportion of deaths associated with smoking-related diseases increased parallel to the increase in the smoking prevalence in young people and adults. Norway, France and Finland have enforced legal limitations on direct and indirect advertising, and thus there has been a decline in smoking prevalence among young people and adults. In some countries, including Ireland, Italy and Serbia, the prevalence of smoking among the young has decreased due to the new or increased legal restrictions on the sale distribution of tobacco products. The governments in the Czech Republic, Kazakhstan, Estonia, Croatia, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Poland have placed restrictions on direct and indirect advertising. The distribution of other causes-related deaths and lung cancer-related deaths are high. CONCLUSION: The restrictions on tobacco products were tightened in time with the increased prevalence of smoking and proportion of smoking-related deaths. It can be said that the significant relationships identified in this study have even more pertinence in developed countries. Consequently, Co-Plot method has enabled deeper data interpretations of the relationships between the countries and the variables in this study.

The effects of reboxetine and venlafaxine on ECG variables in depressed patients / Depresyon hastalarında reboksetin ve venlafaksinin EKG değişkenleri üzerine etkisi

Antidepressants exert distinct effects on cardiac autonomic nervous system function depending on their receptor profile; thus, different groups of antidepressants are expected to insuence cardiac parameters in varying degrees. This study compares the effects of venlafaxine, a serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor and reboxetine, a selective noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor, on ECG parameters and vital signs. Methods: The cardiac parameters and vital signs of 44 depressed patients were evaluated. The initial dose of venlafaxine XR was 75 mg/day and the dose was increased to 150 mg/day at the end of the 2nd week. Reboxetine was started at 4 mg/day and increased to 8 mg/day at the end of the 2nd week of the study. Electrocardiography (ECG) was performed and the PR, QRS, QT, and QTc intervals were measured both at the beginning and at the end of the trial, as were the vital signs. Results: The heart rate was significantly increased in the reboxetine group (Wilcoxon z=-3.510, p

Examining the Probabilities of Type I Error for Unadjusted All Pairwise Comparisons and Bonferroni Adjustment Approaches in Hypothesis Testing for Proportions

The aim of this study is to examine the association among the probabilities of Type I error obtained by Unadjusted All Pairwise Comparisons (UAPC) and Bonferroni-adjustment approaches, the sample size and the frequency of occurrence of an event (prevalence, proportion) in hypothesis testing of difference among the proportions in studies. In the simulation experiment planned for this purpose, 4 groups were formed and the proportions in each group were chosen between 0.10 and 0.90 so that they will be equal at each experiment. Furthermore, the sample sizes were chosen from 20 to 1000. In accordance with these scenarios, the probabilities of Type I error were calculated by both of approaches. In each approach, a significant S-curve relationship was found between the probability of Type I error and sample size. However, a significant quadratic relationship was found between the probabilities of Type I error and the proportions in each group. Nonlinear functional relations were put forward in order to estimate the observed Type I error rates obtained by the two different approaches where sample size and the proportion in each group are known. Furthermore, it was founded that Bonferroni-adjustment approach cannot always protect Type I error level. It was observed that the probability of Type I error estimated by the functional relation on Type I error rate for UAPC approach is lower than the values calculated using the formula in the literature.

Comparison of the efficacy and safety of sertraline, reboxetine, and venlafaxine in patients with major depressive disorder: a pooled analysis of four randomized, open-label trials

ABSTRACTObjective: This paper aims to compare the efficacy and safety of three widely used antidepressants, sertraline, reboxetine, a sertraline-reboxetine combination and venlafaxine, in the treatment of MDD and their effect on depressive symptoms in MDD patients.Methods: A total of 206 patients were included in reboxetine, venlafaxine, sertraline, and sertraline-reboxetine combination groups; however 37 cases dropped out during the study period. The remaining 169 patients were distributed to groups as follows: reboxetine: 43, venlafaxine: 43, sertraline 42, sertraline-reboxetine combination group: 41. The data from patients, who were included and completed the previous four open-label studies, were pooled in the current study.Results: Treatment groups did not differ in terms of depression-related and sociodemographic features. There were no significant differences among treatment groups in terms of efficacy, safety, and remission. The reductions in HDRS scores as percentages were higher in venlafaxine g...

A New SEYHAN’s Approach in Case of Heterogeneity of Regression Slopes in ANCOVA

In this study, when the assumptions of linearity and homogeneity of regression slopes of conventional ANCOVA are not met, a new approach named as SEYHAN has been suggested to use conventional ANCOVA instead of robust or nonlinear ANCOVA. The proposed SEYHAN’s approach involves transformation of continuous covariate into categorical structure when the relationship between covariate and dependent variable is nonlinear and the regression slopes are not homogenous. A simulated data set was used to explain SEYHAN’s approach. In this approach, we performed conventional ANCOVA in each subgroup which is constituted according to knot values and analysis of variance with two-factor model after MARS method was used for categorization of covariate. The first model is a simpler model than the second model that includes interaction term. Since the model with interaction effect has more subjects, the power of test also increases and the existing significant difference is revealed better. We can say that linearity and homogeneity of regression slopes are not problem for data analysis by conventional linear ANCOVA model by helping this approach. It can be used fast and efficiently for the presence of one or more covariates.

Parental attitudes toward pediatric use of complementary/alternative medicine in Turkey

PURPOSE This study was conducted to determine the pediatric usage of complementary/alternative medicine (CAM) by parents in Turkey, the incidence of using these methods, and the factors affecting their use. DESIGN AND METHODS The sectional and relational design of the study included a sample of 497 parents who took children for treatment at the Maternity and Childrens Hospital in Giresun, Turkey. Data for the study were collected via the Personal Information Form and the Evaluation Form for Complementary/Alternative Treatment Use. The data collection tools were filled out by the researchers during the face-to-face interviews. Data obtained from the study were analyzed by Pearson chi-square, Fisher-Freeman-Halton and Fishers exact (posthoc Bonferroni) tests and Z-test. RESULTS It was determined that 97.7% of the parents had used at least one CAM method. Moreover, the parents had used CAM methods mostly for respiratory complaints. The CAM methods were most commonly used for the symptoms of fever, diarrhea, and cough. It was observed that the most commonly used alternative methods in the past were vitamin/mineral remedies, cold treatments, and hodja (Islamic teacher) consultations, while the most common alternative methods currently used are massage, music, and cold treatment. In addition, the differences found between CAM users in terms of sociodemographic characteristics were not statistically significant. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS It is crucial for nurses to learn the characteristics of the health/disease treatments used by those with whom they work in order to increase the efficiency of the service they provide. Thus, it was recommended that nurses should be knowledgeable and aware of the benefits/side effects, treatment methods, and contraindications of CAM.

Can serum BDNF levels predict the distinction between bipolar disorder depressive episode and unipolar depressive episode

Objective: This is study aimed to determine if serum levels of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) can be used as a biological marker to make a distinction between the depressive episodes of bipolar disorder (BD) and recurrent major depressive disorder (UD). Methods: Patients between 18-65 years of age and diagnosed with BD and UD according to DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria, who were admitted to the outpatient clinic of psychiatry department were enrolled to the patient arm of the study. Volunteers between 18-65 years of age, who had no physical morbidity and clinical psychopathology according to DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria, were enrolled to the control arm of the study. There were 24 patients (11 BD and 13 UD) and 18 healthy volunteers. Patients were required to be drug naive for the past four weeks prior to the study enrollment. Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) were applied to all patients. The serum levels of BDNF of all the subjects were studied. Results: There were no differences between groups in terms of sociodemographic variables. Total number depressive episodes were higher in BD group compared to UD group. There were no differences between BD and UD groups in terms of serum levels of BDNF. However, in patient group serum BDNF values were lower than the control group. Serum BDNF levels did not correlate with age, body mass index or gender in each group. Serum BDNF levels did not correlate with mean scores of HDRS or number of depressive episodes. Discussion: Considering the outcomes of the present study, serum BDNF levels did not demonstrate any significant difference between patient groups. However, serum BDNF levels were lower in patient groups compared to controls. For the time being there is no valid biological diagnostic marker for psychiatric disorders. The data of the present study is far from generating a biological marker for the distinction of depressive episodes of UD and BD.